Import of personally owned handgun and Rifle

[Leo]

We live in US for many years now and plan to move to India for a few years. Me and my wife are both Indian citizens. We own 4 fire arms in US for sporting matches and hunting. Both me and my wife intend to import one firearm each to India which I think is allowed by an old Indian law. I have gone through the procedure to export personally owned firearms from US and it should work out. However I am not familiar with import and licensing method for India. Hence your advice is appreciated. I will contact a lawyer after getting basic info to validate my options.

Firearms that I think would be easy to import:
1) Pistol: Glock 19 Gen 4 in 9 mm Luger
2) Remington 700P Bolt Action Sniper Rifle chambered in 0.308 (7.62 X 51 mm) with a Leupold Mark 4 6-20 scope. (http://www.remingtonle.com/rifles/700p.htm)

Our others firearms are Semi Automatic and I think they would be really difficult to import and hence I plan to just sell them here. Do let me know if my assessment is wrong and we may be able to import them:
1) Arsenal Bulgarian Semi Auto AK 47 chambered in 7.62 X 39 mm (http://www.arsenalinc.com/usa/SLR-107FR.html)
2) Self build AR 15 (Semi Auto version of M4) chambered in 5.56x45mm with an FN Hershel's barrel (similar to https://fnamerica.com/products/rifles/f ... -tactical/)

[rahulbdelhi]

9 mm luger is a prohibited bore in India, not allowed for most civilians.
BTW, do you already have a fire-arms license in India ?

[marksman]

Leo,
Unfortunately all the fire arms and calibers you own out there come under highly restricted category, namely 9mm Luger (9x19), 5.56x45mm, 7.62x39 mm and 7.62x51mm. These are used by our armed forces and thus come under the purview of Prohibited calibers.

Marksman

[Leo]

9 mm luger is a prohibited bore in India, not allowed for most civilians.
BTW, do you already have a fire-arms license in India ?

I don't have a firearm license in India. I'll get one before importing these.

[Leo]

Leo,
Unfortunately all the fire arms and calibers you own out there come under highly restricted category, namely 9mm Luger (9x19), 5.56x45mm, 7.62x39 mm and 7.62x51mm. These are used by our armed forces and thus come under the purview of Prohibited calibers.

Marksman

Can I get a prohibited bore license from home ministry and then import these. How hard is it to get and what is the process?

[Leo]

I can always buy a 0.40 S&W Glock 23 (https://us.glock.com/products/model/g23) here, if the caliber is only problem. However I have heard about multiple other restrictions like barrel length (this one will have 4.0" to 4.5"), Magazine capacity (This one will have 13 to 15 rounds) and magazine count etc. So will the ownership of 0.40 S&W Glock 23 be allowed in India in a Non Prohibited Caliber.

[mundaire]

Theoretically you can apply to for a restricted firearm license, however your chances on being the first man on Mars would be far greater than the chances of success on this route.

1. As far as the handgun is concerned the restriction is purely based on calibres - please see Schedule I of Arms Rules 2016 for an exhaustive list of restricted calibres (for both handguns & rifles).

2. Shotguns with barrel lenght less than 20" are also restricted.

3. Lastly, semi-auto centrefire rifles are also under the restricted category.

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[Leo]

Theoretically you can apply to for a restricted firearm license, however your chances on being the first man on Mars would be far greater than the chances of success on this route.

1. As far as the handgun is concerned the restriction is purely based on calibres - please see Schedule I of Arms Rules 2016 for an exhaustive list of restricted calibres (for both handguns & rifles).

2. Shotguns with barrel lenght less than 20" are also restricted.

3. Lastly, semi-auto centrefire rifles are also under the restricted category.

Cheers!
Abhijeet

Thanks for the reply. I'll focus on the pistol then. I'll buy one in non-prohibited calibre an hopefully I can import it after 1 year.

[Vishalpatel]

In India i think import of firearms weapons in india banned from 1949 as i remaber

[rahulbdelhi]

You can import firearms under the "Transfer of residence" criteria. But it makes me wonder if its worth the effort and hassle. Most common good quality pistols in US are chambered in 9mm, which is a PB in India. So is .357 magnum (for revolvers).That leaves 380 ACP pistols and 38 special revolvers.
Now, there is no 380 ACP or 38 special ammo manufactured in India. So you will have to buy imported ammo from dealers at exorbitant prices, if at all available. You can buy some "uncommon" pistols chambered in 32 ACP, like Beretta Tomcat and NAA Guardian, but I don't know how they will function with IOF made ammo. You wouldn't want to risk damaging your gun.

Of course it all depends on whether you would be able to get an arms license in India. Under which category are you planning to apply? Self defense, sports? How would you justify the "need".

I don't mean to discourage you, just expressing my thoughts. There are many people in this forum who have successfully imported firearms.
I would like to invite other people to share their opinions, specially those who were successful in importing their beloved guns. Please share your experiences.

[mundaire]

Just a small correction - .357 magnum is not a PB caliber.

[Shivaji.Dasgupta]

CZ and Beretta both have models in .32ACP. Many other brands available in .32 in US market but being considered as a low Impact calibre .32 is not very popular in us market rather an unusual round. Arranging a gun in 32 in US market is not a prob. and Ammo is frely available here. but the only thing is to get the AL here.
Leo if you have a NRI status then the things will be much more easier for you. As per the low you can import one Weapon per person ( of course after getting the AL and Clear the duties ).

regards

[goodboy_mentor]

.327 Federal Magnum revolver can also fire .32 S&W Long cartridges. Getting .32 S&W Long cartridges should not be a problem in India. Along with .327 Federal Magnum revolver you will also be allowed to bring in maximum of 50 cartridges. So you can keep the 50 .327 Federal Magnum cartridges as a reserve, if God forbid, for self defense situation and do target practice by firing locally available .32 S&W Long cartridges.

[Shivaji.Dasgupta]

a wise and very practical option by goodboy_mentor,

regards.

[indiaone]

Dasgupta babu,
One more point. You should be in possession of the firearm one year prior to its import into India. Also read the other conditions of import as indicated in the Customs Regulations.The second important point to be noted is getting a firearm licence.Some of the States are very stringent in granting licence, this includes West Bengal.You have to apply where your permanent home address is in India , as indicated in your passport.So take note ofthese ground realities.In case, you are to take up residence in a different State, you will not be getting the license , as your anticidents cannot be verified being a new resident in the area.
Do not take it as discouragement, but this is the reality. However, it is a different matter if you have right connections in the State Government.